Lonely Hearts
by MagicMan01
Summary: In the feudal era of Japan, a young loner named Light happens upon a runaway slave named Lawliet who was badly wounded by bandits. While together until Lawliet fully heals, they begin to develop feelings for each other. However, with the threat of Lawliet's cruel master looking for him and his twin brother still missing, will their relationship survive? LightxL and eventual BBxA.
1. Perfect Strangers

**Several things inspired me to write this story, including the anime film **_**Princess Mononoke **_**and the anime/manga series Inuyasha, but I think it was mainly a fic I recently found buried in the Light/L archives, titled **_**Strangely Beautiful**_** by DraconoTheIndecisive. It's a really great story, and I would highly recommend checking it out if you like the Light/L pairing. I also recommend **_**Princess Mononoke **_**and Inuyasha because, well, they're both just badass in general (at least in my opinion). And, as the summary suggests, this story is based in Japan's feudal era, hence the "medieval" kind of atmosphere.**

**Warning: Graphic violence.**

**-Disclaimer- I don't own Death Note, **_**Strangely Beautiful**_**, or anything else previously mentioned.**

* * *

**Chapter 1 - Perfect Strangers**

Lawliet was tired.

He was injured, hungry, weak, ill-clothed, dirty, and probably sick, but most of all, just tired. No, _exhausted _was the better word.

He'd been on the run for a little over a month now. Since the day he had escaped his master's plantation, he'd never stopped running in the opposite direction. Most nights, he only slept two to three hours before getting up and moving again to put as much distance between himself and the search party as he could. He always made sure to cover his tracks to make it harder for them to follow him, hiding the evidence of where he'd been and changing directions every so often to throw them off course. They probably had dogs, too, but if it would delay them for even a day, then he would take it.

The combination of a lack of sleep and constant walking for hours on end was taking a heavy toll on his frail body. He'd always been on the much lighter side and was a lot smaller than most other people, but the life of a runaway slave only added to this and practically gave him the appearance of a walking skeleton. He was physically, mentally, and emotionally drained, and the only thing keeping him upright and moving forward right now was his spirit.

His determination and desire for freedom gave him hope that maybe, just maybe, he would someday find a nice quiet place to settle down, free of those who wished to do him harm and claim him as their property.

Each painful step reminded him that he was still a slave, but also reminded him that it was another step further away from his master. This drove him forward and he often thought of it when he was on his last legs, when he felt that he just couldn't go on anymore. His spirit was the one thing he had that his master had never quite been able to break, and he would be damned if he ended up giving up on himself after all he'd been through.

As he walked along the dirt road, his stomach began to rumble for what must have been the tenth time today. His companion paused in his steps, quirking his head up towards the boy in concern. Lawliet halted as well, rubbing his stomach and sighing. He hadn't eaten anything in at least sixteen hours.

He glanced down at his companion, giving him a small smile. He knelt down and scratched behind his ears, knowing it was one of his favorite places to be scratched. He grinned as his friend leaned into it, closing his eyes and moving his head into the pleasant touch.

"Don't worry about me, Kenta," he soothed, still scratching the wolf's ears. "I've gone longer without food. We both have."

The wolf cracked open a yellow eye, regarding his human companion with an intelligent gaze.

Lawliet chuckled.

He'd always liked that about Kenta, the way he could communicate with him just by looking at him. Wolves were known to be highly intelligent, but in Lawliet's opinion, Kenta may as well have had the mental capacity of a human adult. Though Kenta couldn't actually talk to him, he understood almost everything Lawliet said and did as if he'd known him his whole life.

Words just really weren't necessary between them.

"I'm sure you're hungry too, Kenta, and I apologize for my inability to provide for us," the human continued. "However, I've heard of a village about ten miles away from here. If we move at a steady pace, we could be there before sundown. I don't have any money to buy food for us, but if I'm able to acquire a job there, we should have a steady income and enough money to purchase it without having to resort to stealing it. Does that bode well with you?"

The wolf remained still for a moment, taking in everything his friend had said. When his brain processed the information and told him that Lawliet wished to get a job in the village so they could eat, he moved in close and nuzzled under his chin, licking it as a sign of affection and understanding.

Lawliet laughed and pet Kenta's head for a moment or two before standing up. "All right, Kenta," he nodded toward the road, "let's get going."

He began walking again as Kenta trotted loyally beside him, wolf paws and human feet evening in pace as they made their way to the village.

* * *

Light went through one last check of both himself and his elk before he left his home, making sure he had everything he needed. It was about twelve miles to Akedo and the last thing he wanted was to forget something important and have to double back here to get it.

He thought about wearing a tunic or something simple, but he decided on the leather hide armor and long pants he wore when he went out hunting, instead. There had been a few robberies on the main road to the village quite recently and he wanted to be prepared for a fight if it came to that. This train of thought prompted him to bring his katana and hunting bow along for defense, as well. He didn't choose any footwear, though, as he wasn't planning on being in the village very long and found it more comfortable to ride barefoot.

He grabbed a small pouch of gold from his house, tying it to his belt. He was low on fruits, vegetables, and grains, which was the main reason why he was heading to the village in the first place. As he lived on the edge of the forest, though, he hunted and fished whenever he needed to, so it was rare that he was ever short on meat or fish.

Adjusting the bow on his back, he made sure that the saddle and quiver of arrows were properly situated on his elk's back before mounting it. It reared up a bit in excitement when it felt Light jump up, knowing he was going to take them both for a ride. Light smiled and pet his mount on the head with one hand as he grabbed the reins with the other.

"Ready, Hideaki?" he asked. "All right, let's go!"

The combination of his verbal command and the action of him gently digging his heels into the elk's sides prompted the animal to whinny in excitement and race out of the clearing. Light chuckled as they practically bolted down the main road leading to Akedo. Apparently, he must have been negligent in taking Hideaki out for runs and rides lately. He'd have to work on that.

* * *

They'd been walking for about thirty minutes when Kenta suddenly stopped in his tracks and began to growl, his tail curling up and the individual hairs of his black fur standing on end.

Lawliet stopped with him and glanced at his companion for a moment before looking around, trying to see what the wolf had sensed. Unlike most domesticated canines, Kenta almost never barked or growled unless he genuinely felt that either he or Lawliet were in actual danger. It had saved both of their lives more than once.

"What is it, boy?" he asked, still trying to find what the wolf was looking for.

Kenta lowered his head a bit more, jutting it forward and baring his teeth. He spread his legs in a defensive stance, his large paws pressing hard into the dirt. His eyes stayed trained on the road before him.

Lawliet gulped. Whatever had Kenta this riled up must have definitely been a major threat to both of them.

_But what could it possibly be? _he thought.

He was about to scout ahead to see if he could find what had Kenta so on edge when seven figures stepped out from the tree lines on either side of the road. They stood in a group in the middle of the road, blocking it as a sort of human barricade.

Lawliet gasped, taking a step back and nearly bumping into Kenta. In contrast, the wolf took a few steps forward, the growling in his throat rising in volume as he took in the men before him. They all brandished a weapon of some sort; swords, sickles, knives, hatchets... just to name a few. One even wielded a bamboo staff.

_Highwaymen_, Lawliet thought. _Damn!_

In the month that he'd been on the run, he had only run into a handful of people, but most of them just passed him by without a second glance. These men, however, were a different story entirely. They weren't going to move unless he gave them something of value, but seeing as how he didn't have any money or precious metals on him for trading, they would probably just kill him on the spot as soon as they figured that out.

"Well, well, well," the one in the middle slowly said, resting his heavy sword on his shoulder in a nonchalant pose. An evil grin formed on his lips, knowing he had this man and his wolf cornered. He took a step forward, glancing between the two of them like a predator sizing up its prey. "What do we have here?"

The others behind him laughed, stepping forward so they were more or less in line with their leader.

Lawliet tried to remain calm, but it was fairly difficult with more than half a dozen armed bandits staring him down. They didn't seem to be the type of people to take "no" for an answer. He had a hunch that one way or another, someone was going to die here today.

He obviously couldn't go forward, as the highwaymen were blocking his path. He could make a break for the woods on either side of the road and try to lose them there, but he was sure that they knew the area well and would probably hunt him down within the hour. If he ran back the way he came, he would just be running from one group of people trying to catch him to another.

He had no weapons to defend himself with, nor anything to protect his body from harm. At this distance, his martial arts skills would be useless, and even if they got within the range of hand-to-hand combat, he wouldn't be able to take them all on at once. Perhaps one at a time, maybe, but considering that they were armed and sticking together as a group, there was almost no chance of that happening.

Simply put, he was trapped.

Kenta continued to growl, practically snarling at the men before him. He knew Lawliet was weak and on the verge of pure exhaustion, so he put his body in between him and their aggressors as a sort of shield. It may not have been much along the lines of defense, but if it would protect his friend in any kind of way, then he would do it.

The leader of the highwaymen laughed, pointing at the wolf.

"Oh, that's cute!" he jeered with a smile. "Thinks he can protect you! How unfortunate..."

"W-What do you want?" Lawliet demanded with a stutter, ignoring the man's antics.

The leader of the gang sobered, no longer chuckling but still keeping the unsettling smile on his face.

"Don't you know, kid?" he mocked him. "We _own_ this road. You wanna use it, you gotta pay the fare, understand? No one gets to just walk it for free."

"L-Look," Lawliet raised his hands, "w-we don't mean any trouble. I don't have anything to pay you with, I swear. If you would just allow us to pass, we-"

The leader cut him off midsentence. "Not a chance, kid," he shook his head. "I'm sure you got _somethin' _on you to pay with..."

"No, really, I'm telling the truth!" Lawliet insisted.

"We'll just have to see about that," the leader brought the sword down from his shoulder to rest the side of the blade in his hand.

The others drew their own weapons, laughing as they did so.

Lawliet gasped when they slowly began to advance forward. They were... enjoying this; relishing in the thoughts of bloodshed and thievery. It made him slightly nauseous just thinking about it. With every step they took forward, he took one back, trying to distance himself from them as much as possible without making any sudden movements. That would probably cause them to rush him.

When they were about fifteen feet away and still closing in, Kenta dug his paws into the dirt even harder than before and snarled viciously at them, refusing to budge.

Lawliet knelt down so his face was level with Kenta's, constantly glancing between him and the bandits to make sure they didn't try anything while he was turned away from them. He took his face in his hands, trying to get him to look at him and at least recognize that he was talking to him. As much as Lawliet liked Kenta, he could be extremely stubborn sometimes, but then again, so could _he_.

"Kenta, please, don't!" he whispered urgently. "If we fight them, it will only make things worse!"

But the wolf didn't listen.

He understood what Lawliet was getting at, but he was too far past rationalization to listen to reason right now. These men, these _insects_ had threatened both Lawliet and himself and didn't look to be backing off anytime soon. Even if he died attacking them, he would die happily knowing that he'd shown these bastards that he wasn't going to back down or give in to their unreasonable demands.

Maybe it would distract them long enough to give Lawliet a chance to escape, too...

Pausing his growling for a brief few moments, Kenta looked sideways at his friend, taking in all of the features that he'd come to know about him for more than half of his life. He'd always liked him, even on the first day they'd met as complete strangers, somehow knowing that they would be together for a long time. He leaned in close to affectionately lick his cheek, making sure he at least said goodbye to his friend in case it was the last time he ever saw him.

Lawliet gasped, having a bad hunch of what Kenta was about to do.

He hadn't even opened his mouth to discourage him from doing anything further when the wolf turned back to the men before them, got low to the ground, and launched himself at the bandits.

"Kenta, _no_!" Lawliet cried out as he tried to grab him before he did anything rash. But it was far too late - Kenta was just too fast to stop.

Lawliet watched in horror as the wolf leaped into midair and came crashing down on one of the men, jaws clamping down on his upper arm. The man screamed in pain as the animal's sharp teeth ripped into the limb, trying to tear it off of his body. He was too shocked to attempt beating it off of him and instead screamed out for help from his friends.

Only one of them rushed over to the man, the rest of the group backing up and gasping in horror at the scene unfolding before their eyes. The brave one grabbed the wolf by its neck, trying to pull it away from its victim. But Kenta remained undeterred, continuing to gnaw and shake the man's arm like a chew toy. Realizing he wouldn't be able to simply pull the wolf off of his friend, the bandit took a step back and brought the blunt edge of his hatchet down on Kenta's head.

Lawliet screamed as he heard the sickening crack of the weapon hit his only friend directly in the skull.

"_NO_!"

Kenta didn't even have a chance to cry out as the weapon struck him, collapsing on top of his victim.

The man tried to push the animal off of him but cried out in further pain when he realized that its jaw was still set around his arm. His friend knelt down to pry Kenta's mouth off of the other's arm, the wounded bandit scrambling out from under the heavy animal when he was free. He looked down at his arm and began to hyperventilate when he saw that the wolf had chewed it down to the bone, blood spilling from the wound and dripping down to the ground. He quickly fell into shock.

Lawliet's head sunk, tears beginning to fall from his dark eyes. _Kenta, _he thought miserably. _No..._

The heartless bastards! They'd killed his one and only friend, ripped his life right out of this world. He was alone. He may as well have just been back on his master's plantation, in constant agony and loneliness.

He didn't hear the laughter of the bandits, who, moments ago, had been frightened beyond their wits when Kenta attacked one of their own. He was numb to everything except his own emotions. What he also didn't hear was the footsteps getting closer and closer to him.

He registered the feeling of pain when one of them hit him square in the cheek, but didn't acknowledge it. They grabbed him by the back of his ripped white tunic and yanked him up to his knees, forcing him to look at them. The leader knelt before him, laughing as he brought the blade of his sword up to Lawliet's throat. He pressed the cold steel into the pale flesh as he spoke.

"Aww, you cared about him, didn't ya, kid?" he teased cruelly. "He your pet or somethin'? Ha ha ha!"

Lawliet looked straight into the man's eyes with pure hatred. "He was my friend," he spoke quietly but venomously. "He was also more of a man than you'll ever be, you worthless piece of garbage. You're the lowest form of a person I've ever met, and that's saying something considering the fact that I'm a slave. My only regret is that my wolf didn't get the chance to kill you or your men when he jumped your petty little band of cowards moments ago."

The man dropped his confident, cocky look and immediately scowled at the young man staring emotionlessly back at him. Why, the little...

"Shut your damn mouth, you little punk!" he growled as he hit him in the temple with the hilt of his sword.

Lawliet fell to the ground, landing hard on his side. He felt the blood drip down from his head, the substance staining his pale skin red. The men circled him and began kicking him while he was down, hitting him wherever they could. He curled up into himself to block some of their strikes, the tears not subsiding. It was a mixture of physical and emotional pain that he tried to hide from them as best as he could, not allowing them the pleasure of knowing they'd hurt him.

Eventually, the group let up and he felt his arms grabbed as he was once again yanked roughly to his knees. The leader grabbed him by his dark hair and pulled his head back, leaning in close until he was practically nose to nose with Lawliet.

"A slave, huh? Guess your master never taught you any manners, did he? Well, it's never too late to learn something new..."

He ran the tip of his blade over Lawliet's face and down his chest. He was about to ask his men to hold him still so he could teach the little bastard in his own way when he noticed something sticking out of the collar of his tunic. Upon closer investigation, it looked like a small chain, almost like one would wear around their neck to hold a piece of jewelry.

"Say," he moved his hand down from Lawliet's hair down to the collar of his tunic, "what you got there?"

Lawliet's eyes suddenly went wide as a gasp escaped his lips. _No, _he thought, beginning to panic. _No, he can't take that! _Anything _but that!_

The other men in the group stopped their cheerful conversing and laughter at the humiliation of this unknown slave when their leader suddenly became interested in something the man had under his shirt.

"What is it, boss?" one of them asked curiously.

But he ignored him, instead reaching down to see just what the kid had on him.

"No," Lawliet struggled against his captors. "Please, no, don't..."

But it was to no avail. The man pulled the object out from under Lawliet's tunic and nearly gasped when he saw what he had found. The others gathered around him to get a look as well and had similar reactions.

It was a pendant.

The small metal chain was made of pure silver, looping down to a circular hanging piece also made of the same material. In the middle was a brilliant sapphire surrounded by a dozen or so small diamonds, and upon turning it over, he saw two black katakana engraved into the crest. The man paid this no mind, though, as he didn't know how to read. The piece of jewelry glimmered in the late afternoon sun, the rays of light reflecting off of the flawless metal in a nearly blinding display.

"Been holdin' out on me, huh?" the man grinned at Lawliet.

"No, don't! Please, it's all I have!" he begged. _That's non-negotiable. There's no way he's getting that!_

The man chuckled. "You know, honestly, I don't doubt that, kid - seeing how you're a slave and all. Unfortunately for you, though, you don't make up the rules here, and also seeing as how ya got nothin' else to pay the fare to use our road, I think we'll be taking this."

* * *

Light was about ten miles away from the village when he heard something up ahead.

He pulled on the reins for Hideaki to slow down so he could hear what was going on. It sounded like a conversation of some sort. Leaning in to hear better, he gasped after a few moments when he realized that it was a struggle.

Glancing down at his mount for a brief moment, he looked back up at the road and was suddenly determined to stop whatever was happening. It really was none of his business, but it could have been those highwaymen the village had been having trouble with lately. If so, then whoever they were harassing most likely didn't have very much time left to live.

"Let's go, boy!" he kicked his elk in the side a little harder than he wanted to with his bare heel.

The animal yelped in some pain, but took off down the road at his master's command nonetheless. Light apologized to his elk for the rough treatment, but part of him knew that he'd done it for a good reason. As he rounded the sharp bend, he saw the figures of what looked to be about half a dozen men far down the road.

He kicked Hideaki again, slightly gentler this time but still hard enough to get the animal to go even faster. He leaned forward and reached behind his back to remove his hunting bow, bringing it to his side as his other hand held the reins steady. If these guys were armed - which they most likely were - he might need to resort to extreme measures to get them to stop.

When he was about a hundred feet away, he pulled on the reins for his mount to slow down. Before the elk even came to a full stop, Light had already dismounted and grabbed his quiver of arrows from the saddle. Telling Hideaki to stay, Light gave him a reassuring scratch on the nose before taking off into the tree line in the direction of the commotion up ahead.

Jumping over falling debris and dodging trees, Light expertly ran through the forest as if he'd known it his whole life (which, technically, he did). He just hoped that he got there before the bandits killed whoever they'd stopped. If he was too late, then there would be nothing he could do, except maybe ensuring that they never did it again.

He barely even realized he was running over large sticks and branches, as his feet were tough and hardened from years of walking barefoot. As he hadn't expected anything like this to happen, he hadn't brought his shoes with him, but it really made no difference when it came to protecting his feet from injury.

Within less than half a minute, Light could clearly make out the highwaymen, taking careful notice of their number and positions. There were seven of them in a circle around something, though Light couldn't exactly tell what because they were crowded around it.

_It has to be the person they're robbing; otherwise they probably wouldn't be in such a tight circle like that._

Something lying on the side of the road away from the group caught Light's attention, the black form briefly registered by his peripheral vision. When he glanced over to see what it was, he was barely able to cover up a gasp when his eyes landed on the largest wolf he had ever seen.

Its thick fur was jet black, its tail long and bushy. The paws were huge, roughly the size of his face in comparison, and the claws were long and sharp. Its mouth was slightly open, displaying some of its white, razor sharp teeth. Its body was long, thick, and muscular.

If he had to guess, he would probably estimate its weight to be somewhere around 230 to 240 pounds. Its length looked to be around six and-a-half feet, while its height seemed close to at least four feet. Never before in his life had he ever seen a wolf that could even come close to this giant - not even the alpha males of large packs he occasionally caught fleeting glimpses of.

He began to wonder just what it was doing lying on the side of the road when his thoughts were promptly interrupted by a rising argument within the group off to his side. The bandits appeared to be trying to take something from their victim, whom Light still couldn't see because of his angle. After a few moments, he saw a few of them tumble to the ground and got his first glimpse at just who the highwaymen were attempting to rob.

Like the wolf, he too was a being unlike any other Light had ever encountered before, causing him to quietly gasp.

His - Light could tell he was male - body was thin and frail-looking in some places, but also strong in others. He looked as though he'd never seen a ray of sunlight in his life, as his skin was an odd, milky white. His hair - like the wolf's coat of fur - was dark black, appearing almost as if it had never been combed once. But Light had to admit that the oddest and most striking feature on the man was his eyes. They were larger than the average person's and almost completely black, a set of dark half-moon crests underneath them most likely from a lack of sleep.

Light wasn't really one to judge, but from the man's dress and the way he looked, he appeared to be a slave - most likely a runaway. He wore only a ripped white tunic and long blue pants, which were also ripped. Like Light, he was also barefoot, though it probably wasn't by choice. From his body and facial features - interestingly enough - he actually seemed to be around the same age as him.

All in all, he was odd, strange, and mysterious, but this only piqued Light's curiosity even further as to just who this man really was.

Shaking his head to clear them of any thoughts not pertaining to the current situation at hand, his eyes widened when he saw the man get low to the ground and deliver a strong upward kick to the jaw of one of his attackers. The man flew back, dropping the knife he was wielding and clutching his jaw in pain. That didn't look like just any ordinary kick - the way it was performed and executed made it seem like it was a martial arts move, though Light couldn't even begin to imagine which style it was derived from.

However, before he could do any more damage to the men surrounding him, one of the bandits struck him in the back with the hilt of his sword, causing him to cry out in pain as he fell face first onto the ground. He was quickly yanked up by the back of his hair by the same man while the others held him still.

Light's eyes widened and he swore to himself as he quickly prepared his bow. Damn, damn, damn! He'd been so focused on the scene that had been unfolding before him - as well as the man involved - that he'd almost completely forgotten that said man needed his help. Notching an arrow, he glanced up as he raised his bow, trying to get a good line on his target.

One of the bandits had stepped in front of the man and was preparing to kill him with his sword. _No, no, no! Just give me a few more seconds to line him up! _He drew back the string until it was back by his shoulder, taking a deep breath and trying to steady his heart rate as he set up the shot.

But right before Light could release the arrow, the man thrust his hand forward to put the long blade of his sword clear through the man's chest. The man hunched forward in obvious pain, blood flowing like a river from the stab wound.

"_No_!" Light screamed, failing to release the arrow that was supposed to have stopped the murder of an innocent stranger.

As the young man's body crumpled to the ground, the highwaymen all immediately looked in his general direction. As Light wasn't very far away from them, they were able to zero in on where the outburst had come from almost immediately.

"Damn it!" he cursed, setting up the shot for a second time. Light was too enraged to wait for his breathing to slow down before taking the shot, causing it to go slightly wide. However, he was still pleased to see it hit one of the men in the arm, the shaft buried halfway in the limb.

He quickly notched another arrow while the stunned men tried to regroup themselves and run for cover, releasing it when he was sure it would hit its target. The projectile zipped through the air, hitting its intended mark - the back of one of the men's necks - with deadly accuracy. He saw the man crash to the ground and choke on his own blood for a few seconds before he finally lay still.

Dropping his bow, he drew his katana as he leaped out of the tree line and sprinted straight toward the remaining six bandits. "_You bastards_!" he screamed wildly.

Four of them turned around and drew their weapons as soon as they saw him while the other two ran off, one into the forest and the other down the road. They were obviously very intent on avoiding the same fate.

The one Light had shot through the arm was stumbling backwards, trying to grab the knife that had fallen to the ground when he'd dropped it. He glanced up and gasped in fear when he saw the young man charging right for him. Panicked, he desperately grabbed at the knife on the ground and was able to get a good grip on it. Right before he could bring it up, though, Light thrust the tip of the blade through the man's chin at such an angle that it also went through his brain. His motor control now gone, the man let go of the knife almost immediately and dropped to the ground with a heavy thud.

Light looked up, eyes flickering between the three who were now starting to circle him. Getting into a defensive stance, he brought his blade up and made sure he knew where all three of them were at all times so there was no chance whatsoever of them sneaking up on him while his back was turned towards them. He mentally ranked each of them in order of how much of a threat they were to him.

Number one was the guy with the sickle. It was a close-quarters weapon, but it had a long chain on the end of the wooden handle and could be thrown and then quickly yanked back if desired. He would probably cause him the most trouble.

Number two wielded two hatchets, blocking his body with one and planning to attack with the other. If he could get at least one away from him, it would leave the rest of him open. However, like the man with the sickle, they could probably be thrown. But the caviar to that action was that unlike the first man, he would be throwing his weapon away if he did so.

And lastly, number three was the bandit with the bamboo staff. He might have been able to block one or two of his strikes, but Light's katana could easily cut through it after a few swipes, leaving the man completely defenseless... unless, of course, he had a small weapon hidden on him somewhere - such as a knife.

Closing his eyes for a brief moment and drawing in a deep breath, Light slowly released it and shot his eyes open. With the speed and ferocity of a lion, he leaped forward and began the attack with a battle cry.

The man with the sickle was slightly thrown off by this move but still had enough time to block the blade of Light's katana with his sickle. As Light pressed the blade down harder to try and break the block, he put his weight on one leg while kicking straight out with the other. The kick hit the man - who, unlike Light, _wasn't _wearing any kind of armor - square in the chest, sending him flying backwards.

Light heard one of the bandits rush him from behind and did a quick one-eighty to meet the man's staff with his blade. Steel connected with bamboo, both users trying to find an opening to strike. Taking advantage of the momentary opportunity, the man dual-wielding the hatchets tried to flank Light, running toward his side while he was engaged from the front. Noticing this in his peripherals, the young hunter calculated that he had about two seconds before the other man was up in his face from the other side.

Quickly forming a plan in his head, he slashed diagonally at the staff, cutting a deep gash in one of the man's hands and causing him to lose his grip on his weapon. Light took the other second to turn to the side and confront the hatchet-wielder.

The man brought them both downward in a "V" shape, Light just barely able to leap back in time. He lunged forward to try and get a good slice or stab in while the man took about a half-second to recover, but he was surprisingly skilled with the weapons, bringing one up to block while the other slashed to the side at Light's chest. He felt the blade slice near his stomach area, which was thankfully covered by his hide armor but still cut right through it - almost touching the skin. Damn, those things were sharp!

Light ducked and rolled to avoid getting beheaded by the man and, seeing his window of opportunity, cut the man's leg right off at the knee. He screamed, falling to the ground and dropping one of the hatchets. However, Light's small victory was short-lived, as the man whom he kicked earlier was now on his feet and preparing to throw his sickle right at him. Light swore as he saw the metal blade fly right towards him, throwing himself to the side just in time.

As the man yanked on the chain to rein the weapon back in, Light pushed himself off the ground, sprinted right for the man, raised his katana, and cut his head clean off. The body followed the head to the dirt road, both hitting it equally hard. Light spun around to face the other two, who were gaping in shock at what he had just done.

He strode toward the bamboo staff wielder, who tried to get a decent enough grip on it to block this man's - no, this _boy's_ - attacks stemming from his murderous rage. He'd already killed two of their men and wounded two more, including himself, and he was beginning to realize that he had seriously underestimated this young hunter. His hands shook as he raised the staff to a defensive position in an attempt to protect himself as Light drew closer and closer to him.

But his efforts were in vain - Light was no more than five feet away from him when he began swinging as if he were trying to chop down a tree. And he was fast, too; _very _fast. He could barely keep up with the strikes as he kept backing up to escape the brutal attack.

At some point, Light cried wildly as he swung his katana particularly hard to hit the middle of the staff. His attack did much more damage than he thought it would, because as soon as the blade struck the wood right in the middle of the entire length, it broke into two even pieces. The man gasped as he glanced at both of his hands, each holding one half of what had previously been a whole weapon.

Light himself was shocked, as well - he hadn't actually planned on breaking the man's weapon, but it was definitely a nice advantage and he wasn't about to complain. Looking right into the man's eyes, he raised his sword and prepared to bring it down on the man. The bandit gasped and tried to block it with either half of his weapon, but Light was simply too strong and he was just too weak.

He barely had time to cry out before the blade crashed on top of his head, went through his skull and cranial matter, and continued right through the rest of him. Light was sprayed with blood as the man was split into two, either side of his body falling to the ground in opposite directions. Just like his weapon, he too had been cut in half.

Glancing over his shoulder, Light looked down at the man he had wounded earlier. He was still screaming in pain and clutching at where his leg had once been, skin turning an unhealthy white from the rapid blood loss. Turning on his heel, Light calmly strode over to the man, almost as if he weren't about to end his life.

The highwayman only noticed how close Light really was when he felt the boy's shadow loom over him. He ceased his screaming, his eyes going wide as his head slowly turned to look up at the person who had cut off his leg not even five minutes ago. He gasped when he gazed directly into the boy's and saw nothing but fury and hatred toward him and his fellow robbers.

He used his elbows to slowly move backwards while holding up his hand, trying to reason with this crazed boy. "W-Wait, please!" he begged. "I-I didn't do anything to him, I swear! It was their idea, not mine!"

Light's eyes practically narrowed into slits as he snorted, looking down upon this lowlife. _This guy's lying right through his teeth. He would sell out his own mother if it meant he would get something out of it._

"I doubt any of that's actually true," Light menaced, his voice low but deadly. "And even if it is, you had every opportunity to back out at any time you wanted to. You didn't have to sneak up on a defenseless, innocent man and try to forcefully take what was rightfully his before murdering him in cold blood. I'm sure you've done it before, though, and you probably would have done it over and over again had I not chosen to intervene today."

"S-So what, you think you're better than me for that or something?!" the man suddenly cried out, losing control of his emotions and inner thoughts from the extent of his injury. "You just murdered four people and cut off my leg! You think you're some kind of a hero or somethin'? You're not a hero; you're insane!"

Light smirked, kneeling down next to the man. He grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and yanked him forward so their faces were about half a foot away from each other. Bringing his blade up between them, he pressed the tip into the man's throat as he spoke venomously.

"No, I'm not insane; just a man who happened upon a robbery and decided to take justice into his own hands because no one else was around to do it. You probably don't even know the definition of the word 'justice,' do you? No, you and your friends are too stupid for that. You're all weak and cowardly. You hide in the shadows with half a dozen other men all armed to the teeth, just waiting for someone to walk down this stretch of road to jump them when they least suspect it.

"Your kind makes me sick. Bloodthirsty, greedy, impulsive... if I had it my way, you would either sit in prison for the rest of your lives or be publicly executed to be made examples of, to show everyone what happens when you decide to murder and steal. You can say what you want about me, but at least I have a moral code. You, on the other hand, just impulsively choose to do whatever will get you the most of what you want in the least amount of time.

"Your reign of terror is over; you and your friends will never kill or steal ever again. Even if more of your kind spring up to take your place, I'd be satisfied knowing that at least I did something to prevent it from happening, if only for a short time. In the end, no matter what the cost or sacrifice, good will always triumph over evil."

The man had visibly paled, shocked and terrified at the boy's words. "W-Who are you?" he asked just barely above a whisper.

"The name's Light," the owner of the name informed him. "I don't think you'll forget it," he added with an almost sadistic smirk.

Originally, he had thought about just killing this man, stabbing him right through the heart or cutting off his head. But now that he thought about it, it would be much more effective to allow him to live, though part of him disagreed with that and argued that this man wasn't even worthy of life and deserved to die a criminal's death. No, it was better to spare him so he could learn his lesson, to serve as an example to society of what happened to murderers and thieves.

Staring hard into the man's terrified eyes for just a moment longer, Light released his collar and shoved him roughly to the ground as he stood up.

"I won't kill you," he shook his head as he looked down at the man. "That wouldn't be fair to you or to society. You deserve to be made an example out of. People should know what becomes of those who choose to walk the path of crime, what becomes of them when they're caught and are properly served justice. For the rest of your pathetic life - however long or short it may be - you'll forever be marked as a criminal."

Not wanting to waste any more of his time than he already had, Light glanced over at the man who had been stabbed through the chest and left here like some wild animal. It angered and saddened him that the man was now dead, that he hadn't been able to prevent his death at the hands of these bastards. But there was nothing he could do about it now - what had been done was done. Still, though...

_He should be given a proper funeral. It's the least I can do for him._

Sighing, Light sheathed his katana and began to walk to the man's body. However, he'd only taken a step when an arrow whizzed right by him, missing him by mere inches. The wounded man - the one he had just been talking to - wasn't so lucky. The arrow embedded itself deep into his shoulder, evoking a powerful scream from his throat.

Light instinctively drew his katana, his eyes scanning the forest for where the arrow man was hiding. Squinting, he was just barely able to make out a rustling of bushes and what appeared to be a lone figure hiding behind them.

If he had a bow or some other kind of weapon that could fire arrows at this distance, then it would be _very _unwise to simply charge at him. He had to find some other way to get to him...

Glancing over his shoulder, Light's eyes fell on the wounded bandit. An idea suddenly struck him upside the head. If he did it right, it could work...

Not giving it another moment of thought, Light quickly ran over to the wounded man and hoisted him up in front of him while his other hand gripped his katana. Taking a deep breath and slowly letting it out, Light ran as fast as he could toward the tree line, ignoring the man's cries and protests.

The leader of the highwaymen was shocked to see the young hunter running right at him with one of his own men blocking his body. A human shield? Shaking his head, he quickly reloaded the crossbow he'd taken from one of his dead men and brought it up to his shoulder. Aiming right for his center mass, he fired the arrow when the boy was less than thirty feet away from him.

Light felt the man's body jerk and his protests cease when he was close to the tree line. He risked a look at the man's back - which was on the side facing the forest - and saw an arrow sticking out of it. Ducking back behind the now dead man and making the most out of his large body to shield his own, he continued running forward.

The combination of both the large weight in one of his arms and the continuous sprint was beginning to take its toll on him, but he ignored it and kept running. With any luck, he should be right at the edge of the trees any second. Glancing over the man's shoulder, he saw the bark of the trees and the large green canopy overhead, signifying that he was now in the woods.

Quickly searching for the man, Light was able to locate him within a matter of moments and ran even faster.

The leader swore as he tried to load the crossbow with yet another arrow, knowing he had only seconds to make the shot before the boy was right on top of him. He looked up and gasped to see him less than ten feet away from him. _Screw it! _he thought, dropping the crossbow and drawing his large sword.

Light bunched the muscles in his arms and threw the man as he continued to run. The corpse hit the bandits' leader, knocking him to the ground and stunning him for a moment. However, he was able to throw the body off of him, jump to his feet, and block Light's swing just in time.

_Damn, he's faster than I thought! _Light thought.

Their blades connected and they both leaned in to try and overpower the other. Light gritted his teeth and distributed his weight evenly between both legs, pressing his smaller blade up against the larger one of the bandit leader. Said man grinned evilly as he easily forced Light's katana further down with his much larger weapon.

Light realized that if he stayed in this position for too much longer, the man would break his block and cut him right in half with that huge sword of his. Quickly drawing in a breath, he shifted the weight of his legs and sprang back to get away from the sword lock. The man was unprepared for this move and quickly dropped his sword from the sudden inertial change.

He swore as he frantically scrambled to retrieve it. Light took the small window of opportunity and charged at the man, his katana out to the side as he ran. The leader almost had his sword up in one hand when Light delivered a particularly strong kick to his ribs in midair. He flew back, dropping his sword again and clutching his ribs. It felt like at least two were broken.

Light landed right in front of him, jabbing the tip of his katana's blade into the man's throat before he could get up. "Don't even think about it," he warned, twisting the blade into the flesh a bit so the man understood that trying anything wouldn't end up well for him.

The man gagged at the sensation of the sharp point of cold steel jabbing his throat. This boy literally held his life in his hands, and choosing to taunt or upset him probably wouldn't be a very good idea right now. Swallowing hard despite the weapon at his throat, he flicked his eyes up to those of the boy. He saw the emotions swirling through them, a raging torrent that made up his current mental state.

He was clearly angry and upset at what he and his men had done to that slave and his wolf, but also... regretful? And... guilty? Almost as if _he_ should have been the one to die instead of that slave? His lips turned up into the slightest hint of a smirk.

Oh, yes. He could _definitely_ use this.

"What the hell are you smiling at?" Light growled, taking notice of the subtle change in the man's facial expression.

The man chuckled. "Oh, kid, you're so easy to read. I can tell what you're thinking right now. You're thinking it should have been _you _who got that sword put through him instead of that freak, right? Like you wished you could have traded places with him or something?"

Light's eyes widened for a split-second before narrowing into slits. "Shut up," he growled through his teeth.

"You wished you could've saved him, don't you?" the man taunted further.

"Shut _up_," he growled again, pressing the tip a bit harder into his throat.

But the man only laughed at this, practically smiling at the young adult. "You wanna know what it was like for me to stick that sword right through his scrawny little chest? To feel his skin and muscle get forced through the other side of him and see the blood leak out like a river? Oh God, it was such a rush-"

At this, Light lost it. All he saw was red and only thought of one thing: to kill this man. Chop him up into little bite-sized pieces like raw meat and scatter them throughout the forest. That sounded pretty satisfying right about now.

Growling deep in his throat, he brought a bare foot down hard on the man's chest, right where he'd kicked him earlier. The man immediately stopped boasting and cried out in pain. Light leaned forward to grab him by his shirt and roughly pull his face towards his own, bringing the blade of his sword up horizontally against his throat.

"Shut your mouth!" he yelled into the man's face. "Shut your _goddamn _mouth!"

Despite the fiery pain in his ribs, he still smirked up at the boy. _Perfect. I've got him right where I want him now._

Light was panting, trying to get his breathing under control as he pressed the blade harder against the man's throat. He could cut his head right off in an instant if he really wanted to.

The man slowly reached behind him to withdraw a small knife hidden in the waistline of his pants. The kid was too pissed off and focused on his face right now to notice. Good...

"You know, kid, I've gotta hand it to you - you practically took out five of my guys all by yourself!" he stalled as he slipped the blade under his shirt sleeve to hide it from view, lightly gripping the handle. "I don't know many people who could actually do that, let alone get to me before I killed them. Unfortunately for you, though, you made a huge mistake - you didn't check me for any other weapons before you got this close to me."

It took about a half-second for this information to register in Light's brain and to realize just what the man was implying, but that was all that the bandit needed. Smiling, he quickly slipped the knife out of his shirt sleeve and flipped it around in his hand. Light gasped and jumped back, but not before the blade sliced his cheek. He felt a sting on his face and was surprised to see blood dripping from the shallow wound now present there.

Glancing up, he saw the man jump to his feet and run at him. He swore under his breath as he raised his katana and charged right back at him. He swung his sword when he was less than two feet away from him, but missed when he ducked and stuck into the trunk of a tree near him instead. The bandit rolled to the side, brandishing his knife and smirking up at the young hunter.

Light gritted his teeth and pulled his blade out of the tree, getting into a defensive stance as the man prepared to rush him once more. The man sprinted the mere ten feet between them, crying wildly as he pointed his knife straight out in a clear attempt to stab Light in the chest. The second right before he could do so, Light suddenly stepped to the side and swung his katana at the man now speeding past him. He felt it go through something and saw blood pour from the stump of where the man's left arm had been moments ago.

The bandit fell to the ground, shocked when he saw that his left arm had been cut off right above the elbow. He looked up at the boy, who sauntered over to him with his katana in one hand. He tried to stand up to stab the little bastard, but Light was prepared for that move and swept his blade to the side, cutting his right hand off. The bandit screamed and thrashed around on the ground in pain.

Like earlier, Light brought his foot down on the man's chest, making him practically howl in agony. Light leaned in close so the bandit could hear him through his pained cries and the rapid loss of blood that was beginning to make him feel dizzy.

"Doesn't feel too good to be on the receiving end of a blade, does it? I'll bet it didn't feel too good for him, either," he directed towards the victim. "And you know what, now that I know you can't possibly do anything else to me, how about I tell you what _you're _thinking right now? You're thinking about how much you want to kill me right now, but can't because both of your hands are gone and you're growing weaker and weaker by the second from extreme blood loss. You're thinking that it was a bad idea to kill that poor man and rob his corpse, and how bad of an idea it was to come here in the first place. You're thinking about how you could have lived your life like an actual decent human being instead of stealing from and killing whoever and whenever you saw fit. You thought it was easy to tell what _I _was thinking? Buddy, I can read you like a book."

Stepping off of the dying man and gripping his katana with both hands, the last words from him that the leader of the highwaymen heard were, "As much as I would love to sit here and watch the life slowly drain out of you, though, I'm afraid that I'm going to have to cut things a bit short."

The man gasped in horror and tried to reason with the boy, trying _anything _to avoid being killed by him. But Light was much more intelligent and determined than he even thought was possible for a person his age, refusing to bargain with him or spare him any mercy for his sins. Raising his sword and flipping it upside down so the blade was aimed downward, he brought it up above his head and held it there for a second or two, realizing what he was about to do.

He silenced the man once and for all when he thrust the blade of his katana down through his heart. His body jerked for a split-second before he laid still, his eyes still open. Light panted heavily, hands still tightly wound around the grip of the sword. He saw the blood pour from the wound he'd created, further staining the steel of the blade a bright crimson.

After a few minutes of kneeling there and collecting himself, he slowly rose to his feet on slightly shaky legs. It was only now that he truly realized what he had done here - he had just killed six men. _Murdered _them. It was blood he could never wash off of his hands, never forget about or try to atone for. He would-

No, no, no! Wait, what was he thinking?! These low lives had murdered an innocent traveler and tried to rob him. He didn't murder them! No, he _killed _them in self-defense. Yes, that was it... right?

What else could it be considered? They _had _tried to kill him, so he had no choice but to kill _them_ instead. Besides, the Code of Hammurabi said, "An eye for an eye," right? They killed someone and then tried to kill him, so he did just did what he felt was right. No, what _was _right.

Shaking his head to clear it of these moralistically conflicting thoughts, he pulled his katana out of the man's chest and wiped the blood off of the blade in the grass. Blood from those he had killed here today. Sheathing it, he stepped out of the woods and strode back to where the victim lay.

He knelt next to the man once he reached his crumpled form. He took the man's hand in one of his own. It was cold.

"I'm sorry, my friend," he whispered. "I can't help but feel that your death is my fault, that I could have prevented it somehow. I've never met you before, but I promise that you will be given a funeral. After all, it's the least I can do. I wish I knew someone close to you, that way I could at least give your body to them and allow them to tend to it. However, I'll make sure that you're properly laid to rest - that much I can guarantee. Rest in peace now, friend - your journey has come to an end."

He smiled sadly when he finished, releasing the man's hand and looking over his physical features. He had to admit that he looked a bit out of the ordinary, but that only made him more interested in just who he was. Obviously, he would never be able to ask him directly, but perhaps someone could enlighten him sometime later.

Right now, though, he was going to take the body home, clean it, and go into the village tomorrow to plan a funeral with whoever would be willing to give him one. Scooting closer to the man, Light carefully reached under him to wrap his arms around his torso. He gently turned him over, positioning him in his lap so he would be able to carry him. Before he stood up, though, he took the time to get a look at the man's facial features.

He'd been able to make out what he looked like from afar, but up close, he now had a much better view of him. Light was thankful that his face wasn't twisted in pain or had died with his eyes open, but rather with a lighter expression on his face. Despite the way he'd died and the pain he must have been in, he almost seemed... peaceful.

_Thank God; at least he didn't suffer much. I don't think I could have handled seeing him with such a pained expression on his face post-mortem._

Sighing, he was about to stand up with the body and call for Hideaki when he suddenly felt something under his arms. He gasped and looked down at the man's chest. That was... no, it couldn't be. He was _dead_! It _couldn't _have been what he thought it was!

Still, though... he was curious. For the sake of his conscious, he had to make sure. He _needed_ to satisfy his curiosity.

Bowing his head forward, he titled it to the side so his ear was pressed directly over the man's heart. He ignored the powerfully overwhelming smell of copper from the stab wound inches away from his nose and listened closely. He closed his eyes and held in his breath to avoid mistaking it for the man's own.

Several moments went by. He didn't hear anything, but he would remain here in this position until he ran out of breath and had to take in precious air to circulate the flow of oxygen throughout his body once more. He wouldn't leave his side until he was one hundred percent _certain _that this man was, in fact, dead.

As the oxygen slowly drained out of his lungs, he began to lose hope with each passing moment. He hated to admit it, but maybe what he felt earlier had been from his own body and not from this man. Light _really_ hated being wrong and refused to overlook a minor detail that could have saved a man's life if only he'd been paying more attention.

Right when he was about to lose his breath, he heard - and felt - something gently throb once beneath his ear. His eyes shot open and he sat back in complete shock as he slowly began breathing again.

_Oh my God. He... he's... alive._

Light quickly pressed two of his fingers against the man's carotid artery hidden under his mass of black hair to determine his pulse. Holding them there for several seconds, he felt it move beneath his fingers a few times. It was very weak, but it was still there.

There was no doubt about it now - this man was _alive_.

An excited smile tugged at his lips upon this epiphany, but quickly turned into a determined frown. If he was alive, then he was suffering from massive blood loss and was probably already in shock. He had to get him back home and treat him _immediately_.

With the knowledge that he now had a barely living man in his arms, Light carefully stood up, positioning him so he wouldn't cause his body any further damage. When he turned around, he nearly screamed when he saw the giant black wolf now upright and growling warningly at him, yellow eyes boring right into his. But how had it just gotten right back up like that? Wasn't it dead minutes ago?

That was when he noticed the small trickle of blood steadily flowing from the wolf's head. The bandits must have hit it hard enough in the head to knock it out. Judging from the wound and how it was slightly caved in, it looked like the animal had been struck with the blunt edge of a hatchet or axe.

He shifted a bit uncomfortably from foot to foot, afraid that the wolf would maul him if he even took one step. The large animal slowly began moving forward, drawing closer and closer to the human and the man in his arms with every fall of its large paws upon the dirt road. Light gulped, not sure what to do.

And then it dawned on him. He gasped when he suddenly realized what was going on here. This wolf, in some way, shape, or form, it _knew _this man in his arms. He took careful notice of how it kept looking from him to the unconscious man, like it wanted him to drop him and leave him alone.

It saw him as a _threat_, a danger to this man. If he wanted to get him home and properly treat him, he had to prove to this wolf that he could be trusted and just wanted to help.

"L-Look," Light tried not to let his voice waver, "I just want to help him, okay? I don't mean him any harm, really. He's badly hurt and I need to take him back to my home to help him."

Wait... why was he talking to a _wolf_? God, he could be such an idiot sometimes! He had to use another form of communication, something that the wolf could understand. But the only thing that came to mind was gesturing and making motions with his body. Well... okay... yeah, he could do that.

The wolf halted and ceased growling for a moment when it noticed this man slowly lower himself to the ground, getting on his knees and holding Lawliet carefully in his arms. But he began growling again when he saw him begin to move him around. He took a step forward to get his point across that he wanted his friend out of this man's arms _now_.

Light noticed this and swallowed as he carefully lowered the man to the ground, making sure he didn't agitate the wound in his chest too much. He let go of the man and glanced up at the wolf, seeing it take a step closer as it continued to regard him with suspicion. He held his hands up and tried to verbally communicate with the wolf, gesturing and motioning for emphasis.

"I'm a friend," he patted his chest with both of his hands before pointing to the wounded man and slashing his hands in front of him as a negative. "I don't want to hurt him. I don't mean him any harm."

The wolf paused in mid-step, regarding the human carefully. He was pointing between himself and Lawliet, clearly trying to tell him something. But what was it?

Light noticed that this had gotten the wolf's attention, but it hadn't driven the point home like he'd hoped. He pointed to the wound in the man's chest - which was beginning to bleed again - and then haughtily to himself, as if saying he held a high position of authority of some sort and could heal him. "He's badly hurt, but I can help him. I have... great powers..." he trailed off, not really sure what to say.

The wolf slightly cocked its head to the side, starting to catch on to what this human was saying. It seemed like he knew how to do something to help Lawliet and didn't want to hurt him. Well... maybe he should give him a chance. But not before checking on his friend.

Still slightly growling but no longer baring its teeth, the wolf slowly made its way to both humans, stopping when it was inches away. It glanced up at Light for a brief moment before dipping its head down and sniffing the man on the ground, moving in close so its nose was practically touching his skin. It noticed the wound and leaned in close to get a better look at it, observing for himself just the extent of the damage he had taken.

While it did this, Light took the opportunity to determine the wolf's gender. Quickly glancing under it between its back legs, he was able to instantly tell that it was male. It could have been the alpha of a local pack, but why was it out here in the middle of a road tending to a human? As much as the whole situation confused him, though, Light knew the answers would eventually come to him later... if the wolf let him live, that was.

The wolf picked its head up and stared at Light, yellow eyes meeting brown. Light's hands were still up in the air and his heart rate picked up as the wolf leaned forward, its large head getting closer and closer to his own. He winced and shut his eyes, turning his head to the side.

Oh, God. It was going to kill him. He hoped it was relatively quick and painless rather than having it slowly tear him to shreds like wolves often did to their prey in the wild. He could feel its hot breath on the side of his face and cringed when he felt its nose brush against his cheek. He really wished it would just get it over with already instead of tormenting him like this.

But he was shocked when he felt something warm, wet, and rough move under his chin. He cracked an eye open and glanced down to see the wolf licking under his chin. It was... accepting him? _Not _going to kill him?

He opened both of his eyes and slowly lowered his hands to his sides. Since he usually hunted deer and small game, he wasn't an expert on wolf behavior and didn't know too much about that field. However, he _did _know that when the alpha male did something like this to another wolf, it generally meant that the former had accepted the outsider into its pack. So, in other words, this wolf trusted him and was allowing him to take care of this man.

Light thought about patting it on the head, but quickly discarded the thought due to its injury and the fact that it probably didn't trust him enough yet to do that. Breathing a sigh of relief when it drew back and sat on its haunches, Light nodded to the animal as a form of understanding between them. It gave him a look that basically said, "I trust you with him, but if you do anything to harm him in any way, I'll rip you limb from limb in a second." And honestly, Light was fine with that - it wasn't as if he'd planned on hurting either of them in the first place, so he really had nothing to be afraid of.

Slowly reaching for the man, Light brought his arms around him and cradled him close to his chest as he stood up. The wolf watched him carefully the whole time, looking for any signs that this human would harm Lawliet or him. Not noticing anything in the human's motions or scent that presented itself as a threat to him, he allowed the brunette to take a few steps down the road before catching up to him and glancing up at him curiously.

Light noticed the wolf pull up beside him and gave it a reassuring look as he whistled for his mount. Kenta's sensitive ears picked up on the sound and twitched as he looked around for just what this human might be signaling for. He caught the scent of a larger animal coming his way and honed in his hearing to determine exactly where it was, figuring it must have been somewhere nearby in the forest on either side of the road.

Hideaki burst through the foliage, bounding gracefully over some bushes on the edge of the tree line. It halted right in front of Light but reared up and whined in fear of the large predator in front of him. He backed up a bit as the wolf's ears pricked forwards and bared its teeth at the elk.

"Hey, hey, he's with me!" Light reassured the wolf, gesturing and pantomiming as best as he could with the precious load in his arms. "He's here to help, too! I know him."

Eventually, the wolf began to catch on to what Light was suggesting, thinking he and this elk were here to help Lawliet. His defensive, threatening stance soon became one of careful scrutiny, but was visibly more relaxed than before.

Light sighed in relief, turning to his still-frightened mount to console him. "Hey, Hideaki, it's okay," he assured him with a pat on the head. "He's on our side. He won't hurt you, I promise."

Light inwardly winced at that statement and immediately regretted saying it. Though he was pretty sure that this wolf wouldn't harm his mount, he couldn't be absolutely _certain _about it and the thought of it mauling his longtime friend made him very uneasy. Still, he had to have confidence and faith that this powerful animal had enough trust in him not to attack either him or his mount on the way back.

Swallowing in slight nervousness, Light crossed the few feet separating him from his mount and carefully lifted the man up until he was in somewhat of an upright position upon Hideaki. Holding him steady with one hand while he climbed up so his body wouldn't tumble off the side, he brought himself up behind the man and adjusted himself so he was more comfortable on his mount. He grasped the reins in one hand and put his other arm around the man's waist, gently pulling him back until he was flush up against his chest so he wouldn't move around too much during the ride back.

His eyes went wide when he caught a whiff of the man's hair, which brushed up ever so slightly under his nose and mouth. It smelled slightly musky and like the wilderness he'd probably been running through for God-knows-how-long, but it was very pleasant. And... did he catch a hint of strawberries? He wasn't really sure why, but for some reason, the man's aroma was strangely intoxicating to him - almost to the point where he wanted more.

He snapped out of his distracted state by Hideaki whinnying and kicking at the ground a bit impatiently. Nodding to himself in determination, he directed the elk to turn back towards the road that they'd come from. Giving him a sharp command and a light kick in the side, the elk sped off back to their home at top speed.

Light noticed the wolf even up beside them, glancing up at them every few seconds while keeping up his pace. He tried to keep his focus on the road before him but couldn't quite shake the fear that he wouldn't make it back in time to save this man's life. Looking over the man's shoulder to check on his wound - which was still bleeding profusely - he swore under his breath and kicked Hideaki again to go even faster.

* * *

**This first chapter was a **_**monster**_**! I mean, really, it's over 13,000 words long! I guess it was just because I wanted to cram all this stuff into the first chapter for a good hook, but it's highly unusual for me and I probably won't ever again write another chapter this long in this fic, or any other fic, for that matter. Shit, man.**

**In case anyone's curious, Kenta's character came from the wolves in **_**Princess Mononoke**_**, who were even larger than him and could easily talk to people. I actually considered killing him off in this first chapter or having Light fight him to prove his dominance over him and win his trust over, but both of those ideas sounded quite shitty to me and I just had the bandits knock him out instead. I probably won't ever kill off an OC - or a **_**canon **_**character, for that matter - unless it's explicitly stated in the summary, so you shouldn't worry too much about that.**

**Hideaki was also a **_**Mononoke **_**inspiration, stemming from the main character Ashitaka's red elk, Yakult (I don't even think there is or ever was such thing as a "red elk," but whatever). I looked up training elk as mounts to see if you could actually ride them in real life, and technically, you **_**can**_**, but it's very unusual and isn't practical. However, I'm sure Light's brilliant ass could come up with something and make it work out for him. Heh heh.**

**To wrap things up, I'm planning on explaining Lawliet's (L's) background in much greater detail later on, such as how he became a slave, how he and Kenta met, and why he's so attached to his pendant. As usual with me, I can't exactly promise quick, steady updates like I wish I could do, but I'll try anyway. Hey, it's never too late to break habits.**

**A/N: To clear up any confusion that may arise later on down the road, I'm not planning on using surnames - last names - in this fic, as most people back then didn't really use them and instead called someone by their first name - or **_**only**_** name, really - and maybe a title afterward (i.e. "Bob the Heroic" or something like that - you get the point). You also may have noticed that L is now "Lawliet," as I felt this would be much more fitting for him than just "L" throughout the course of the story.**


	2. The Man Called 'L'

**Chapter two is up! A bit later than I would have preferred, but it's here, nonetheless, so enjoy!**

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**Chapter 2 - The Man Called "L"**

The second they reached the clearing, Light held Lawliet tight to him and dismounted Hideaki as fast as he could, sprinting for the door to his house. Kenta was close behind, following the pair as Light reached the front entrance. Not bothering to stop and carefully open it, he instead delivered a strong kick to the frame to force it open. It swung wide as he hurried over the threshold and into the actual house itself.

He looked from side to side, cursing under his breath as he tried to find a spot to treat the man in his arms. He did a double take when his eyes landed on his bed and he immediately crossed the short distance to it, gently setting the man's thin body atop it when he was within distance. His mind going off in several different directions at once, he acknowledged the fact that he needed to stop the bleeding as soon as possible if he wished for him to survive.

Light retrieved a knife from a nearby cabinet and grabbed the collar of the man's white tunic with his other hand, the material now stained red from his blood. He briefly noticed a metal chain around the man's neck and pulled it out of the tunic to reveal a beautiful pendant. As beautiful as it was, though, it would interfere with his work, so he made to snap it right off of the man's long neck, but thought twice about it and halted in his actions. It may very well have been the only thing he had left. Sighing and shaking his head, Light reached underneath the man's head and under his thick mass of dark hair to unclasp the chain, carefully removing the piece of jewelry from him and placing it on the table next to the bed.

Now able to work, Light held the tunic steady and off of the man's body to avoid cutting him. Pointing the blade downward, he cut it down the middle to get to the wound beneath. Sliding the material away from his chest, his eyes went wide when he saw blood practically gushing from the large stab wound. God, there was so much of it.

Without even thinking, he quickly opened one of his clothing chests and grabbed the first top he saw, a tunic of his own. Rushing back to his patient, he bunched the tunic to make it thicker and pressed down upon the wound. He made sure to keep the pressure strong enough to halt the blood flow, but not so much as to hurt the man even further than he already had been. He occasionally glanced at the man's face, which looked paler than ever from the massive blood loss.

He saw and felt the blood seep into the tunic, soaking the entire bottom half of it within a minute. Light adjusted his hands to increase the pressure ever so slightly, pressing down a bit harder. Minutes passed by, though they felt like an eternity to him. How much more blood could this man lose before it all just drained out of him?

Slightly lifting the tunic off of the wound to check its condition, Light was pleased to see that it was barely bleeding anymore. He let out a sigh of relief and walked to the other side of the large one-story house to retrieve his medical supplies. He kept them here in the house in case of an injury while out hunting, but they would work perfectly fine for a stab wound.

Rummaging through the chest holding them, he pulled out some bandages and antiseptics before standing up and heading to the cooking area. There, he found some herbs that would be useful for the man's healing process, bringing them with him over to the bed. Dumping the items on the bedside table, he used some of the antiseptics to clean the wound - both liquids and pastes - before cutting off a piece of white cloth and shaping it around the wound. Using some of the paste to keep it in place, he cut several large pieces of the cloth and began wrapping them around the man's torso, making sure to cover the wound.

After tying it off in a knot so it wouldn't shift around too much, Light stepped back to admire his handiwork, setting his hands on his hips and letting out a long, drawn out sigh. The most serious wound was patched up, but there were still several more parts of him that needed tending to. Light looked the man up and down, taking careful notice of his many lacerations and abrasions.

He couldn't be certain because of the man's large volume of hair blocking his view, but Light knew he'd been hit once or twice in the head when he saw blood matted in the dark hair near his temples. Chest now bare, Light could clearly see many bruises and scrapes from where he'd most likely been punched or kicked several times. His hands and feet had many scratches, bruises, and abrasions on them as well, though they were most likely from his time on the run - if that was in fact what he'd been doing before Light had found him.

Light smiled grimly and shook his head. It was definitely going to be a long night for both of them. Just then, out of the corner of his eye, he noticed a large black form at the doorway. He could have guessed it was the wolf and wasn't very surprised to see the animal itself in the threshold when his eyes finally landed on him.

The wolf was sitting on its haunches, gazing into the darkened house with curious yellow eyes. Light followed its eyes and saw them looking in the stranger's general direction. He was obviously concerned for him, so Light stepped to the side, allowing the animal to do as it wished. Kenta glanced up at Light for a moment before gazing back at Lawliet and slowly making its way toward him. Placing his nose near Lawliet's face, Kenta sniffed him for a while, clearly trying to determine his friend's condition.

Light decided that it would be best to give them their space, so he walked to the other side of the house and knelt down by the fire pit, putting some wood in it to start a fire for the night. It was nearly dark out now and if he wanted to actually see what he was doing, he would need some source of light to do it by. Grabbing the nearby flint and steel, he scraped the carved stone across the top of the small piece of metal, trying to spark up the kindling below. After a few moments, a single spark touched part of the kindling, which Light noticed and tended to almost immediately.

He set the flint and steel aside and put his face near the kindling, blowing hard on the one spot that the spark had landed on. Within seconds, a small, single flame appeared, which he blew on to make even bigger. Adding a few twigs and small sticks to it, he sat back and watched it slowly grow.

He glanced over to the side at the wolf and the unknown man. The former was fervently sniffing and licking him, perhaps trying to clean him off or even wake him up. Light smiled, realizing just how much the wolf really cared for this man.

However, the smile quickly turned into a frown when he saw the top of the wolf's head in the dim lighting of the fire. It was still slightly caved in, blood matted around the wound. Light sighed as he stood up and crossed the room to the bed, reaching for some of the medical supplies on the table beside it. Whether the animal fully trusted him or not, he couldn't just leave ignore such a large visible wound and leave it untreated.

Supplies in one of his hands, he knelt down beside the wolf and slowly reached the other out to gently touch its neck in an attempt to get its attention. Kenta immediately stiffened and whipped his large head around to face Light, regarding him with a curious and somewhat wary stare. Light flinched, clearly not expecting that, but tried not to show his fear.

He held up the items in his hands so the wolf could see them. "Your friend is hurt, but he should be all right in a few days' time," he spoke slowly, pantomiming a bit for effect. "I've noticed that you're hurt as well." At this, he tapped his own head before pointing at the wolf's. "If you wouldn't mind, would you allow me to heal you?"

Kenta sniffed at the items in Light's hands, wrinkling his nose at them. It seemed that this human wanted to help him like he'd helped Lawliet. He'd used these same things to treat his friend, so they should be fine for him, right? Still, he was a bit wary, but he cast these uncertainties aside and sat on his haunches, lowering his head so Light could easily reach it.

Light set some of the items down beside him and reached for one of the antiseptics in a jar. Holding it above the wolf's head, he carefully dripped a small amount of it onto the open wound. The wolf yelped in pain and Light grimaced. "Sorry, sorry," he hastily apologized. "I probably should have warned you beforehand that it might hurt."

Kenta glanced up at him for a moment before lowering his head again, wishing for the human to just get on with this so he could return to Lawliet. Light released the breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. It seemed to trust him enough to allow him to heal it, so he set the antiseptic aside and used a cloth to gently rub it into the wound.

Taking some of the paste in one of the bowls, he spread it out on top of the wolf's head and rubbed it in so it both covered and permeated the wound for full effect. He looked down to check the wolf's face for any signs of pain every so often and either increased or decreased the force of what he was doing accordingly. After the paste was applied, he took some more from another bowl to cover the paste that was already there. Light had discovered long ago that this mixture of paste worked particularly well for healing wounds as a sort of bonding agent.

After several seconds, Kenta lifted his head when he felt the lack of touch upon it and saw Light placing the medical supplies back on the table. The human appeared to be done, so he returned to Lawliet. The mixture on his head was beginning to itch, but he had the good sense not to scratch at it to avoid undoing what the human had kindly done for him and even possibly making the wound worse.

Light wiped his hands off with a nearby cloth as he looked down at the man, whose breathing was extremely shallow, slow, and just barely noticeable. He still had several minor injuries that needed tending to lest they became infected. Light made a promise to himself that he wouldn't sleep tonight until he was fully sure that he'd tended to all of the man's wounds and healed him to the best of his ability.

He turned to reach for the medical supplies once more when he saw the pendant highlighted by the glow of the fire. Curious about the piece of jewelry, he picked it up and held it close to his eyes to get a better look. Under closer observation, he was able to make out a large, brilliant sapphire surrounded by a dozen or so small diamonds. The material around it and the chain supporting it were pure silver, as he'd traded enough in the village to know the metal well enough by touch.

Brushing his thumb over it for a few moments, he turned it over and was surprised to see a pair of black katakana engraved into the back. Together, they formed an "L."

L... Was this the man's name? No, that was far too unusual and just highly... impractical. A man with a single-letter name?

But as Light glanced down at him, he reminded himself that this man wasn't entirely "usual" or "practical" to begin with. So... maybe his name really _was_ L. It also could have been the first initial to his name. Light wasn't entirely sure, but for the moment, he was just going to go with "L."

Setting the pendant back on the table, he retrieved the medicines and set them on the bed beside L. The wolf was still observing him, his nose practically buried in his long hair.

Light sighed. As reluctant as he was to break them apart, he had to have enough room to work, and with the wolf in the way, that just wouldn't be possible. Hesitantly, he lightly tapped the wolf on one of its large paws. Its head turned in Light's direction, wondering what the human wished for now.

"Sorry about this," Light apologized while directing between himself and the man, "but I need room to work on him. You can sit nearby and watch if you like, but I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to move."

Kenta slowly caught on to what Light was saying and realized with some disdain - a lot, actually - that he wanted him to move so he could tend to Lawliet's other wounds. Kenta looked from Lawliet to Light and then back again. He wanted to be beside his friend until he woke up, but this human wanted to help Lawliet recover. In the end, his common sense won out over his stubbornness and he backed away to allow the human to work.

Light smiled and gave him a gracious gesture of thanks before turning to the bed and focusing his attention on L. Taking one last look at all of his wounds, he reached for the antiseptics and quickly set to work.

* * *

Sometime later, Light had cleaned and covered the last visible wound on L's body and was returning the medical supplies to their rightful places. It had been a long, tedious process, but he was now absolutely certain that there wasn't one part of L that hadn't been tended to and treated. Returning to the bed, he noticed the wolf curled up beside the bed, eyes closed and head resting on his great paws. He appeared to be asleep.

Light left him as he was and quietly made his way to the door - which was still open - so as not to disturb the animal. Stepping outside, he stretched his tired muscles and headed for the small lake behind his house. It was only a minute's walk away and served many different purposes, all of which greatly benefited him when he came to it.

Reaching the water's edge, he knelt down to look at his reflection in the still water. He was startled to see dried blood covering his face. Bringing a shaking hand up to his face, he touched it and saw some of the blood on his fingers when he pulled them away. The worst part was that only a fractional amount of it was his.

He gazed back down at his reflection, not sure exactly what to think of himself. He looked like a deranged serial killer straight out of hell. Had he really killed all of those men? Was it truly _he _who had slain them so coldly and mercilessly? Part of him wanted to deny it, but the evidence was clear as day, as it covered most of his face and would have been visible to nearly every person who took a half-second's glance at him from even a distance.

It scared him, really, to accept the fact that it was him and him alone who had murdered six men today. He'd done it without thought, mercy, or remorse, and he even began to question his own sanity. Honestly, he couldn't remember much of what he'd done, as he'd been in such a blinding rage to really even consider the implications of his actions. All he knew was that when he saw that sword go through L's chest and his seemingly lifeless body fall to the ground, any rational or reasonable thoughts immediately left him and were replaced with a burning hatred for the scum before him that thought they were somehow above the law.

Was he insane? Was he a murderer? Was he any better than those men he had killed today? All these thoughts and more coursed through his brain, conflicting with his own morality and rationality that he had always possessed.

When it became too much for him, he growled and splashed his reflection away, not wishing to see it for a second longer. Cupping his hands in the water, he splashed it up in his face and scrubbed at it until the blood was all but gone. Drying his face on his arms, he stood up from the edge of the lake and returned to his home. The day he could no longer see his own reflection would be much too soon for him.

Entering the house and closing the door behind him, he walked to the fire pit and added a few more small logs for fuel. While he'd been working on L, he had gone back and forth every few minutes or so to restock the fire, making sure it never went out. He hadn't tended to it for at least ten minutes and it had been getting low when he'd come back moments ago.

Pushing some of the firewood around with a metal poker to catch better, Light glanced over at the man and wolf, both of whom were now no longer conscious. Smirking at the sight, he stood up, fetched two blankets nearby, and covered both of his guests in them. The fire would keep them all warm, but it never hurt to have on an extra layer - especially at night.

Returning to the fire pit, Light removed his leather armor and tossed it aside near one of the chests, too tired to particularly care where it landed; he also threw his belt off to the side in a similar fashion, hardly paying attention to the sound of precious metals clinking together in the pouch that was still attached to it. He was about to lie down when he suddenly remembered that he still had his scabbard and katana on his person. Quickly taking both off and setting them against the wall next to one of the chests, he pulled out a blanket of his own and covered himself with it as he lay down next to the slowly growing fire. Smiling as he took one last look at the man and wolf on the other side of the house, he slowly closed his eyes and allowed sleep to overtake him.

"Good night, wolf," he said as he drifted off into a peaceful slumber. "Good night, L..."

* * *

**Yeah, like I said, the first chapter is almost certainly going to be the longest in this whole story, so I'm sorry if you thought this one would be even close to that one in length. Anyway, hope to see you all soon with a new update! Peace!**

**A/N: That flint-and-steel fire starting technique that Light used actually works in real life, believe it or not. However, you have to have something small that catches up easily enough underneath it, such as twine, paper, or leaves, as the sparks that come off the steel from the flint being dragged across it aren't very potent and won't affect anything like big sticks or fuel (larges pieces of firewood). Also, the items under your flint and steel should be in a "bird's nest" fashion for the best effect, meaning everything should be in sort of a bowl shape. This was one of the first things I learned in Boy Scouts. Funny how I can apply it to this story, huh? Ha ha.**


	3. Awakening

**When Light is bathing in the pond around the beginning of this chapter, you'll notice that besides a sponge, he also uses soap and a towel to clean himself. This may seem too futuristic and unrealistic because of the time period, but I researched these items and was surprised to discover that yes, they actually existed back then. Of course, the sources I used were mainly referring to hygiene in **_**Europe**_** - mostly England, I imagine - whereas this story takes place in Japan, so I'm not too sure about how common it was for average Japanese people to have and/or use these things for bathing (or if they even did at all). Let's just pretend that they definitely did, huh? Ha ha ha.**

**Oh, also, this is where Light and Lawliet - L, whatever - meet each other in person. As I said before, Lawliet has a rather... interesting backstory concerning his past. I'll get to that very soon, don't you worry.**

**A/N: I kinda made up the whole "shampoo plant" thing, as I couldn't narrow down any species of flora whose properties resembled that of soap or shampoo, let alone specifically in Japan. I'm **_**sure**_** there's at least one plant like that here on Earth, whether we've already discovered it or not. I mean, to date, we've only explored less than ten percent of the ocean, so similar to that anomaly, who knows? At any rate, like the soap-and-towel thing above, just go with it, okay?**

**Warning: Some violence (more specifically, deer hunting).**

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**Chapter 3 - Awakening**

When Light woke up the next morning, he suddenly remembered that he'd forgotten to put Hideaki in his shed last night. Swearing under his breath, he threw the blanket off of himself and jumped to his feet as he quickly pulled the door open. Racing outside, he looked from side to side and became rather concerned when his mount wasn't anywhere to be seen. He was about to call for him when a thought came to mind and he decided to check the shed. Maybe he was in the very place he was _supposed _to be but wasn't expected by Light to be found in...

As it turned out, Light's hunch was right. When he peered inside, he saw the elk grazing, chewing on a plant he'd ripped from the ground. Light breathed out a sigh of relief and sent a thousand thanks to his hunch as he stepped inside the shed. Hideaki glanced up at him as his rider knelt beside him to scratch his ears. "Sorry about yesterday, boy," he gave his mount an apologetic smile.

He knew the elk would forgive him for the slightly rough treatment and forgetting to put him in the shed, though; their relationship was just like that. Like L and his wolf - both of which whose true names were still unknown to Light - he and Hideaki had a special bond that was much more than just rider and mount. They knew each other like no one else did. They could almost read each other's thoughts and emotions. They could practically _feel _each other. They were both still young and had plenty more years together, though, for which Light was eternally grateful.

Scratching his mount's ears for a moment more, he was about to get up when he remembered that he'd left his bow and quiver of arrows in the woods by the road when he'd fought with the highwaymen yesterday. "Damn it," he swore quietly. "Great." Thank God it didn't rain last night! He considered taking Hideaki out to retrieve them, but he still had some things to take care of here before setting out for the village.

Sighing as he stood up, he made his way back to the house and closed the door behind him. He noticed the wolf gradually wake up out of the corner of his eye, eyes slowly opening and yawning as he stretched out on the bed. Light smiled and knelt beside the fire pit to fold up the blanket he'd slept with last night, placing it on top of a chest nearby and picking up his leather armor off the floor. He hung it up on a rack near one of the windows.

He looked down at his bare chest and was reminded of the fact that he hadn't bathed last night and was still dirty - and slightly bloody - from his fight with the bandits yesterday. Going to one of the chests in the house, he withdrew a sponge, a towel, and a bar of soap to use for bathing. Grabbing a tunic, a new pair of leather pants, and a clean _fundoshi _out of another chest he used for clothing, he left the house once more to make his way to the pond behind it nearly a minute's walk away. Once there, he set the hygiene items down by the edge of the pond, removed his remaining clothing, and dove into the water.

For several moments, he just allowed himself to slowly sink to the shallow bottom, opening his eyes and staring up at the surface of the pond. Small waves had appeared from where he'd dove in, gradually settling until they were small concentric circles slowly pulsating outward. He could see the rest of the pond out of the corners of his eyes, bright rays of sunlight reflecting off of the pure water and passing through the surface to illuminate most of the pond underwater. When his breath began to run out, he kicked off from the bottom to propel himself upwards to break through the meniscus between water and air.

He took a rather large breath of oxygen, not realizing how much he needed it until he actually started breathing again. Light just floated lazily there, allowing the late morning sun to shine down upon his tanned skin. The water was warm from the full sun in the clear sky, but still cool enough for a refreshing bath. He sighed as he just gazed aimlessly up at the sky, relaxing his body and lying absolutely still. His brown bangs were plastered to his face but he hardly even noticed, too lethargic to even care.

Light floated on his back for several minutes until he was in an almost meditative state. He relished in the tranquil feel of the lukewarm water all around him, the beams of sunlight hitting the pond, the gentle rustling of grass as a light breeze gusted through the clearing, the sounds of birds chirping and animals of the forest calling to each other. He wasn't sure if he would ever be as relaxed as he was right now.

After some time, he slowly opened his eyes and glanced in the direction of where he'd set his things down. As reluctant as he was to break this heavenly solitude, he'd come here to clean himself, and besides, he had to get on with the rest of his day. Heavily sighing, he enjoyed the feeling of weightlessness for a moment more before swimming back to the edge of the pond.

Light retrieved the soap and sponge, dipping both in the water and using the soap to lather the sponge up. Setting the bar of soap back in the grass, he pulled himself up to sit on the edge and began fervently scrubbing his body with the sponge, careful to reach every inch. He stood up for a few moments to do the parts of his body below the waist he couldn't reach while sitting, then sat back down and ran the sponge over his face.

He winced when it came into contact with the cut on his cheek he'd received yesterday, having completely forgotten about it until now. He'd have to treat that later. Ignoring the slight sting, he lathered up the rest of his face before washing the sponge off in the pond. Dropping it beside the towel and clothes, he jumped back into the water to rinse the soap off of his body, swimming underwater and running his hands over his body to help speed up the process.

Now that his body was done, he swam back to the edge and plucked a flower from the grass, bringing it up to his nose to make sure it was the right kind. Satisfied with its scent, he took the flower between his palms and scrubbed them together, the friction breaking the plant down into a soapy liquid that began to form in his hands. This particular flower had soap-like qualities that, when rubbed hard enough or ground up, turned into a pleasant smelling liquid that worked well for keeping hair clean and smooth. He'd found this out long ago before even having moved here from the home the rest of his family lived in.

When the flower was in a liquid form, Light rubbed it into his brown hair, using both hands to get the substance down to his scalp for maximum benefit. Scrubbing at it for a few more moments, he took a small breath and ducked went underwater. He used his hands to rinse off both his hair and hands, using the latter to fervently scrub at the former. Breaking the surface, he shook his shoulder-length hair out and pulled himself up to the edge of the pond.

Light grabbed a towel and dried off his body for several minutes, looking out at the pond all the while. He never got over how beautifully the water's surface reflected the sunlight. The sunsets were even more amazing, and nights when the moon was out were just as incredible. He really had gotten lucky with this place.

His favorite thing about it was the seclusion. Not that he didn't like people, per se, but aside from his family and the rare stranger in the village, intelligent conversations with others were very hard to come by. He preferred the silence, the sounds of nature. The naturalistic atmosphere was uninterrupted by anyone or anything, as nearly everyone who passed by his home on the main road easily missed his little hideaway tucked just inside the forest off to the side. He liked it that way.

Sometimes, when he would go into Akedo to trade, he would pass by some of the prettier women in the village. He acknowledged them if they greeted him first, but rarely even gave them a passing glance if not. He wasn't blind to their stares or deaf to their hushed comments amongst each other; he was quite aware of the fact that nearly every female around his age in Akedo was attracted to him in some way because of his good looks and charming personality. He wasn't particularly happy about that, though, as he often felt like he was on display for every available woman to fawn over from a distance as soon as he stepped into town. He'd gotten some looks and comments from men, as well, though they were often much more subtle and quieter than the ones thrown out by the women. Homosexuality was generally frowned upon in the region, and though not illegal, many considered it immoral and sinful.

Honestly, Light had never even been in a relationship with anyone before - man or woman - so he really wasn't too sure of his own sexuality. He didn't particularly care, though; it wasn't as if he _needed_ someone in his life to make it wonderful... right? No, of course not! He was perfectly content with being alone in his little forest home away from everyone else.

But then, of course, there was L and his wolf.

They were both still mysteries to him, though the wolf much less so than his master. At least he'd _communicated_ with the animal in some form, primitive in nature as it may have been. L was still out cold from yesterday, and honestly, Light couldn't blame him in the least - he'd been run through at least halfway with a broadsword that had nearly pierced his heart. For his height and weight and the sheer amount of blood he'd lost since yesterday, Light was truly surprised that the man was still alive. He really did hope he would wake up soon, though; call him selfish, but he wanted to know more about this unusual, exotic man. Never before in his life had he ever seen such an enigma as the one lying in an indefinite coma in his bed, and the desire to actually speak to him was immeasurable.

Light tried to keep these thoughts in the back of his head as he carried his hygiene items back with him to the house, however. The longer he thought about these things, the more time of the day he would end up wasting. Time he could use for more productive things, like hunting or trading.

Leaving the towel outside on a low hanging branch of a tree to dry, he stepped through the door and put away the rest of his items. While stowing away the last of his things, he saw movement out of the corner of his eye and glanced over to the bed to see the wolf jump down from it and onto the wooden floor. He smirked and stood up, carefully making his way over to the animal. Though he felt that the wolf's trust in him had gone up significantly since yesterday, he didn't want to risk breaking that trust by doing something it may accidentally label as a threat. Kneeling down, he slowly reached his hand out to scratch the canine's ears. He breathed out a sigh of relief when he leaned into his hand, his yellow eyes closing in pleasure at the simple but welcome touch. Leaning forward just the slightest bit, he was able to see the paste still on the animal's head, thankful that it hadn't tried to scratch it off during the night. He would have to put a bandage over it sometime soon...

Light frowned in mid-pet when he abruptly heard the wolf's stomach growl. "You're probably hungry, aren't you?" he asked with a grimace, still massaging the animal's ears. Owner of said ears regarded him with an almost desperate expression on his face. Light gasped when he realized why it was giving him such a look. The wolf was more than capable of hunting on his own for sustenance, sure, but he didn't want to leave his friend's side, either. In short, this animal was willing to sacrifice its own needs for a dear friend.

Light was... speechless, to say the least. Just the thought of what this wolf was willing to go through for the sake of keeping his companion in comfort nearly made him tear up. He moved one of his hands to the wolf's jaw and looked at it resolutely. "I'll go get you a deer, all right?" he promised it. "It's the least I can do for you."

Kenta's sensitive ears perked up at the word "deer" and he immediately began wagging his large, bushy tail, mouth opening slightly in sudden interest. Once again, a smirk was found on Light's face. He guessed L must have used that word more than once around the wolf before in order for it to respond to it from himself like that. Well, the wolf was obviously hungry and Light was going to go hunting this evening anyway, so why not just kill two birds with one stone?

This sounded like a good idea to him until he remembered that his bow and arrows were still in the forest by the main road. He inwardly groaned to himself in annoyance. Great, yet _another _thing he had to do today!

Well... he _had _been planning on going to Akedo yesterday for some food items, and since his things were on the way, it really wouldn't be an unnecessary journey now. Once again, two birds with one stone. Scratching the wolf's head for a moment more, Light stood up and retrieved the belt and pouch of gold around it that he'd haphazardly tossed off to the side last night, fastening both around his waist. He thought about bringing his katana with him, but decided against it after remembering that he'd singlehandedly taken out the bandits yesterday who were responsible for the many robberies and murders that had occurred along the main road into the village recently.

Slipping on his leather shoes, he made his way over to the side of the bed, gazing down at L's body. Though he'd only treated him just last night, Light still wanted to make sure that the healing process was going along smoothly without any complications. Pulling back the blanket, he carefully lifted up part of the bandage over the stab wound in L's chest to check for possible infection. He was pleased to see that the bleeding had, indeed, fully stopped and was now clotted and hadn't become infected. All he had to do from this point onward was check the wound every now and then and wait for the human body's natural healing process to restore it back to normal.

Satisfied, Light fully placed the bandage back on L's chest and covered him up with the blanket once more. Giving the wolf a quick scratch on the nose, Light exited through the door and called out for Hideaki. The elk appeared from his shed and stretched for a moment before trotting over to his rider. Gently gripping one of the elk's large antlers, Light used it as leverage to haul himself up and get in a seated position. Normally, Light would have put the saddle and reins on first before jumping up, but both were still on from yesterday, as he'd completely forgotten about them both in his haste to treat L. Taking hold of the reins, Light nudged his mount in the side, and within seconds, they were out of the clearing and galloping at a rather brisk pace down the road to Akedo.

* * *

They returned several hours later with everything they'd set out to bring home. Light hopped down from Hideaki, grabbing the food items, a bag of salt, and a knife that he'd bargained for at half the price. He hadn't been planning on getting anything more than the bare necessities, but the salt was on sale and the man who'd sold him the knife had been fairly agreeable to his terms.

On his way to Akedo, he noticed that the bodies from yesterday had been cleared from the road. Not even their blood was visible. It must have been washed away so as not to discourage anyone from coming into the village. Light wondered what had happened to the seventh man, the one who had gotten away. Part of him wanted to find him and bring him to justice - be it by prison or death - but the stronger part assured him that the man had learned his lesson. Still, though, that didn't exempt him from punishment by law from the various crimes he must have committed with the other six bandits. Shaking his head, Light tried to put these thoughts out of his mind and just concentrate on getting through the rest of the day.

Light struggled through the door with the heavy load and just barely made it to the cabinets on the other side of the house before dropping everything to the floor. He grunted and stretched his back. Glancing across the room, he noticed the wolf watching him with interest and couldn't help but smirk. Bending down to pick up the items, he stored them in the various cabinets and drawers throughout his home. The bag of salt was placed against the wall.

Light took the knife out of his belt and held it in the palms of his hands, examining it closely. It was beautifully crafted and he knew it would serve him well; he'd traded with the man before and was quite aware that he took his time with each and every weapon he produced. He set it down on the bedside table and left once more to retrieve the bow and arrows he'd forgotten in the woods yesterday. He removed Hideaki's saddle and reins and placed them in the shed, allowing his mount free reign if he wished.

Light patted him on the side and headed into the woods to kill the deer that he'd promised to L's wolf. Slinging the quiver over his shoulder, Light withdrew an arrow and notched it in the bow, drawing it back and pointing it downward. Getting lower to the ground in a sort of half-crouch, he crept further and further into the forest, all five bodily senses on high alert as he searched for a deer.

It didn't take him very long to track and find a decent sized buck drinking from a fresh water stream. Crouching behind the thick trunk of a large tree, he brought the bow up and drew the string back until his hand was back by his shoulder, pulling it fully taut. There was a slight breeze, but it was too subtle to affect his shot, eliminating the need to account for wind direction. Aiming carefully, he sucked in a breath, and as he slowly exhaled, he let go of the bowstring. The arrow sailed through the air, crossing the mere forty feet or so that separated hunter from prey in a matter of moments. The deer picked its head up at the last second to gaze in the general direction of which it had heard the incoming shot fly, but it was much too late; before it could even blink, the steel arrowhead had buried itself into the animal's flesh and pierced its heart, killing it instantly. It had but a half-second to cry out before it was dead.

Light saw the deer pitch to the side and heard a soft thud as it hit the ground, lying completely motionless. He breathed out a sigh of relief and rose from his half-crouched, half-standing position behind the tree to make his way down to the stream. He was very skilled with a bow and was an excellent hunter, but even after so many years of perfecting his art in the forests of Japan, the one thing he'd never quite been able to get over was mercy killing. He just couldn't stand the sight of a struggling, wounded, bloody animal writhing around in pain on the ground, crying out for help from its own species that would never come. Worse still, he absolutely _despised _having to look into the eyes of said animal and stick his knife through its heart to finish it off. Light prided himself on being able to take down most game with just a single shot; not necessarily for his ego, but more so for his own peace of mind.

The very first thing he'd ever killed was a smaller sized buck in the woods near his old home with his father. Being young and quite inexperienced, his shot was a little too wide and ended up hitting the deer in one of its lungs. When he and his father got to it, they saw the animal crying out in pain, its limbs flailing as it kicked and pushed against the ground. His father withdrew his hunting knife from a sheath on his belt and handed it to his son. Light's eyes were wide, looking from the knife to his father and back. Soichiro knelt beside his seven-year-old son, placing a strong hand on his shoulder and telling his son that he had to put the animal out of its misery. It only made sense that since he was the one who injured it, he should be the same one to kill it.

With tears brimming in his eyes, the young boy slowly turned around gripping the handle of the large knife in both of his shaking hands. Gradually getting onto his knees beside the screaming animal, he slowly raised the knife above his head and was about to bring it down when the deer's eyes met his. He froze. It was clearly in pain and anguish, but the look in its eyes told him that it still wished to live.

Light was torn. What would be the moral thing to do? Spare it the suffering with a quick death or allow it to live out the last few minutes of its life in extreme pain? In the end, he chose the first option. Closing his eyes and trying to somehow block out the tortured cries of the animal, he took a deep breath and plunged the blade of the knife down into the deer's heart. It flailed for but a moment more before it stopped moving altogether and remained completely still.

Light's head was bowed as the tears fell from his eyes, both hands still clutching the knife handle until they went white. His sobs wracked his small frame as he wept for the animal, completely unaware of anything other than him and the deer out in the middle of the woods. He almost jumped when he felt a hand on his shoulder and paused in his crying. He slowly looked up at his father, who was still kneeling beside him and regarding him with a sympathetic, gentle gaze. He comforted his son by assuring him that he did the right thing, that by killing the animal with the knife, he had not only spared it the suffering but also done the moral thing, as well.

At the time, Light had felt horrible. He hadn't been able to eat that night and even had a nightmare. He just couldn't believe that he'd actually taken a living thing away from this world. It had taken him several months to get over that. But looking back on that day, Light knew he had done the right thing by sparing the deer a slow, agonizing death. That very day, he'd learned the valuable lesson of just how fragile life was and that there was a fine line between life and death.

As he came upon the deer, he knelt beside it to remove the arrow and wipe it on the grass to get the blood off. Putting it back in the quiver, he turned around and called out to Hideaki. Had the deer been much lighter and easier to handle, he probably would have carried it back to the house, but this one was clearly a full-grown adult male. It would take him nearly an hour just to drag it back to the clearing.

Within a minute's time, Light spotted his mount bounding gracefully through the trees some hundred feet or so away from him. Slinging the bow and quiver on his back, Light bent over and grabbed the deer by a front leg and a hind leg. He began to drag it close to the stream until Hideaki halted beside him. Having done this hundreds of times before - literally - the elk slightly bowed down so Light would have an easier time getting the deer up on his back. Grunting at the effort, Light got the animal's hind legs over Hideaki's back before pushing up until its entire body was on top. Adjusting the carcass so it wouldn't fall, Light gave Hideaki a scratch on the nose and patted him on the side as sign to go back to the clearing. Recognizing the command, the elk turned around and began the path back to the forest clearing.

Light watched him until he was out of eyesight before drawing his bow and taking an arrow out of the quiver once again. He began another hunt for a second deer and started tracking when he thought he was onto his next kill. The first one had been for L's wolf, which was probably extremely hungry by this point, and this next one for him. After all, he still had to feed himself!

* * *

About an hour later, Light was back in the clearing with the pair of dead deer. It took him a bit longer to find the second one than the first, but he still found it, nonetheless. L's wolf was up and about when Light walked into the house, gazing at him as he came through the door and stowed away his things. Light noticed that he was pacing back and forth, and as he put away the last of the items, a realization came to his mind. _He's waiting for me to give him permission_, Light thought incredulously. Normally, wolves in the wild let the alpha male in their pack eat first before being allowed their turn. So... was he this wolf's alpha male?

Shaking his head with a chuckle, Light motioned for it to follow him outside. Once he was out in the clearing, Light stepped aside and was going to let the wolf choose which deer it wanted when he saw it sit on its haunches and simply look at him. He sighed when he remembered that it expected him to eat his fill first before giving him the okay. Walking to the larger deer, he patted it on the side or the wolf to see. "See this one?" he directed with his hands. "That's all yours. Mine's over there. You don't have to wait for permission or anything, just go ahead when you're ready."

It just sat there staring at him for several moments, processing what he had just said. Light figured the wolf had finally deciphered his words when it glanced at the kill and moved toward it, sizing it up and sniffing at it for a bit. After a few more moments, it began to fervently tear at the skin to get to the meat underneath. Light smirked and went back into the house to get his hunting knife, bringing it with him outside. He dragged the smaller deer away from the wolf so he wouldn't interfere with its meal and began to gut it when he was far away enough. He still had several more things to do today, but the most important ones were all finished and he could just focus on completing the smaller tasks one by one.

* * *

Three days later, Light was outside cutting firewood in the clearing. Hideaki was in his shed resting while the wolf was in the house with L. With one final downward stroke, he split the large log in two. Sighing in exasperation, he wiped the sweat from his brow and set the axe down against the tree stump used for wood cutting. He'd been out here cutting firewood for almost an hour and probably had enough for a week at this point. Thinking he deserved a break, Light bent down to retrieve his leather canteen, unscrewed the cap, and took a long drink of the cool water. He poured the rest of it on his face and back, as the combination of the rather warm weather and strenuous physical labor began to take its toll on him.

Canteen now empty, he walked to a small spring near the pond and stooped down to refill it before heading back to the house. He still had some more wood to cut, but it could wait until later. Stepping over the threshold, he saw L's wolf at the foot of the bed gnawing on a leg bone. It had come from a deer he'd killed yesterday, which had been eaten by the wolf shortly afterwards.

Light moved closer and knelt down to examine the wolf's head, lifting up the bandage he'd recently covered it with. The paste and antiseptic underneath seemed to be holding up well. It didn't appear as if he'd tried scratching any of it off, either. "That's healing up nicely," Light commented, scratching one of the wolf's ears as its eyes flicked up to him, mouth still gnawing on the bone. "Should be good in about a week, actually."

Scratching the ear for a few more moments, Light stood up and unscrewed the cap for his canteen. He was about to take a drink when he heard a sort of groaning coming from the bed. His eyes immediately flicked to the semi-conscious form of the man in it and saw that he was slowly moving. The wolf's sharp hearing picked the sounds up before Light did and he'd dropped the bone almost instantly in favor of seeing his friend awaken, front legs up on the bed and hind legs on the floor so he was in a sort of standing position. Light hurriedly set the canteen on the table and was at the side of the bed next to L's wolf in seconds. He wasn't sure why his heart was beating so fast or why he was beginning to feel both anxious and excited about seeing this man wake up.

Leaning over the bed a bit for a closer view, Light gasped when he saw the man's eyes begin to open. They opened and stayed that way for only a moment before they closed again in an attempt to adjust to the bright sunlight filtering in through the open window. A few seconds later, they opened fully and looked around a bit. From what he could tell, Lawliet was in a house of some sort. His master's, perhaps? No, this one was much smaller and looked quite different from his master's. Plus, his master never would have let him near a bed, let alone _sleep _in one.

He suddenly became aware of a warm, rough sensation on his cheek. He slowly turned his head and was both shocked and overjoyed to see Kenta licking his face. His eyes widened. "K-Kenta?!" he rasped out. "B-But I th-thought you were dead..." Clearly not, though. He reached out to scratch the wolf on the nose, to which the animal leaned into affectionately. He also noticed a bandage on the wolf's head. Someone had healed him? A chuckle to his left interrupted his curious thoughts and he looked up to see just who it had come from.

"So that's his name, huh?" the owner of the voice asked with a smile. "Kenta..."

Lawliet gasped at the sight of this tall, strong-looking man before him. He looked... well, he looked like an angel from heaven, in his opinion. He had shoulder-length brown hair and eyes of the same color; eyes which were gazing him as if studying an important experiment. His eyes traveled lower, noticing the man wasn't wearing a shirt. He took in his muscular arms, defined abdomen, and large, slightly calloused hands at his sides. They went even lower and saw the leather pants he was wearing, which seemed to cover up long, muscular legs and wide hips. His skin was of an almost golden color, probably from his time outside in the sun, Lawliet speculated. Surely, he was any woman's dream.

Mustering up the courage to speak, Lawliet swallowed hard, trying to use his dry throat to communicate with the man next to him. "W-Who are you?"

"Light," the man replied with a smile.

He wasn't sure why, but there was something about this man that made Lawliet... trust him. Save from his family and a select few other servants from his master's plantation, he hadn't been able to trust a single person his entire life. Most people either harassed him or beat him just for looking at them. But this man... he was different. After all, if he had been allowed into _his_ home to sleep on _his _bed and taken care of during that time, how bad could he really be? Lawliet decided to roll the metaphorical dice with his next question. "Where am I?" he asked as he began to sit up. He was only about halfway up when he yelped in pain and clutched the bandage on his chest.

Light immediately rushed to his side with the canteen. "Whoa, whoa, whoa," he gently pushed Lawliet back down on the bed with his free hand. "Hey, take it easy. You got run through pretty good with a broadsword and almost died from blood loss. If the blade had been about an inch more to the side, you would've been killed instantly. You were out for about four days. You also had a ton of cuts and scrapes on you, so I patched those up, as well. Here, drink this." He held the canteen out for the man to take, but when he tried to reach up with his left arm, he immediately winced in pain when the simple action agitated his wound.

Light winced as well, though it was inwardly; it probably hadn't been a very good idea to offer a canteen to someone who couldn't drink from it. _Nice going, Light, _he thought sarcastically. Well, he'd just have to help him drink from it, then. "Here, let me help you," Light offered, moving closer to Lawliet. He began to tip the canteen so the man could drink from it. "Just raise your head up a little for me... yeah, there you go."

Lawliet inclined his head ever so slightly and opened his mouth, allowing the cool liquid to flow into his waiting orifice. Some spilled onto his lips and down his neck, but he didn't even notice; he was too busy quenching his thirst and trying to soothe his dry, sore throat. Light ended up pouring out all of the water into Lawliet's waiting mouth, careful not to let him drink it too fast or spill it onto the bed instead of into his mouth. When it was completely empty, he shook the canteen and chuckled. "Damn, you drank the whole thing!"

Lawliet's eyes widened and he averted Light's gaze. "I-I'm sorry," he quietly apologized. "I should have asked you first."

Light's playful expression immediately changed to one of confusion. "Huh? What do you mean?"

Lawliet glanced at him out of the corner of his eye. "I should have asked you first if it was all right if I drank from your canteen, Light. That was very out of line of me. I'm sorry."

"Out of line?" Light repeated incredulously. "What are you talking about?" He knelt beside the bed so he was level with the man sitting on it. "Look, I _wanted _you to drink from that. No offense or anything, but you practically look like a walking skeleton. You seem like you've been on the run for a while and I can't imagine you've had the luxury of being able to eat and drink as much as you normally would. From what I can tell, you need as much nourishment as you can possibly get. Whoever told you that you need permission to do something as simple as taking a drink of water doesn't live here. What's mine is yours. Only ask me about something if you aren't sure about it or want to know what to do with it."

Lawliet looked away, starting to feel tears brimming in his eyes. Why was this man being so kind to him? They'd never met before, and yet, here he was practically _living _in his house. Didn't he know what kind of risk he was taking by doing this? He was practically harboring a runaway slave, a _wanted fugitive_. If his master ever came here and saw this man housing him...

Light noticed the man look away from him and his shoulders rising and falling ever so slightly. "H-Hey, are you all right?" he asked, gently putting a hand under the man's chin to make him face him. He gasped in shock when he saw the man's large, black eyes swimming with tears.

"W-Why are you doing this for me?" Lawliet choked out through his tears. "Why are you being so _kind_ to me? We've never even met before now and yet you're treating me as if I'm a guest in your home. I'm nobody, Light! I'm a _slave_!"

Light gasped and slightly reeled back. _So he _is _a slave, _he thought. _That would explain his clothing and why he seems so afraid of everything... _Light moved closer to the bed where he originally was moments ago and spoke softly but firmly to this unknown man. "Listen, L, if that is in fact your name; you _were _a slave. I don't know who your master was or where you came from, but none of that matters anymore. Here, under _my _roof and under _my _protection, you are _free _now. They can come and try to take you away if they really want, but they better bring a whole army with them when they do it because there's no way in hell I'll let them take you without a fight. I don't like to hurt or kill others, but when it comes to those I care for and what I believe in, I'll fight to the death if need be. Kenta is more than welcome to stay here, as well. If you _really_ wish to leave, I'm not going to stop you, but I won't be able to help you if you're not here. I would _highly _suggest that you stay here with me for your personal safety, but in the end, it's your decision and yours alone."

Lawliet's eyes were wide and his mouth opened in a similar fashion. _He... he knows my name?! _he thought in panic. _But how... how could he possibly know who I am? I would have remembered seeing him at Master's house if he ever stopped in. I don't think they have wanted posters of me in Akedo, either... or do they? _Lawliet swallowed, his heart pounding in his ears as he voiced his inquiry. "H-How do you know me by that name? My master and just a few others on his plantation were the only ones who ever called me that."

"That pendant you were wearing had two katakana engraved into the back," Light pointed to his neck for effect as he explained. "They made up an 'L,' and since I had nothing else to go by, that's what I took to calling you as."

Lawliet reached up to his own neck and was shocked to feel nothing there. He gasped and looked down. _It's gone, _he thought. _Oh God, it's gone... _In a panic, he looked from left to right, trying to spot it somewhere in this house. He felt around the bed sheets to see if it had fallen on them. _No, no, no!_

Light noticed the stranger's panic and hurriedly fetched the pendant from the table slightly behind the man's head. "Hey, look, it's here, all right?" he tried to soothe him, coming around to the side of the bed again. The man turned his head to look at Light and gasped when he saw the elegant piece of jewelry dangling from his hand. "See? I have it right here." He handed it over to the man, who delicately took it into his own hands and held it close to his chest as if he were guarding sacred treasure. "Sorry about that. If I would've known you were that attached to it, I probably would have just given it to you as soon as you woke up. I had to remove it from around your neck to stop the bleeding from your wound. I hope you don't mind, but I did look at it a little bit while you were out. I've just never seen something like that before."

Lawliet shook his head and glanced up at Light, a small, forgiving smile on his face. "No, no, I understand. It's quite all right. It's just..." At this, he trailed off and opened up his palm to gaze deeply at the jewelry lying flat in his hand, the silver chain gently swaying as he held it and turned it over. He rubbed his thumb over the back where the "L" of his first name was engraved. "This is very important to me. To someone who doesn't know what it is, they would probably just think of it as some extravagant piece of jewelry. But to me..." he glanced up at Light, "...it's much more than that."

Light nodded, kneeling beside the bed again and patting Kenta's head, who was still faithfully by his friend's side. "I understand. Everyone has something special to them. If you don't mind me asking, though," he nodded to the pendant, "where did you get that, L? I've never seen a piece of jewelry like that before."

Lawliet's eyes flicked from Light's to his pendant and back again. Well... there was no harm in telling him about his past, right? Light already knew he was a runaway slave, so what difference would it make by revealing his life to him? Besides, when he looked into Light's eyes, he didn't see anything malevolent or distrustful in those deep brown orbs of his; only kindness and good intentions. And... maybe a hint of curiosity.

Corners of his lips slightly turning up in a small smile, he looked directly at Light. "I suppose I could tell you about my past, if you wish to hear it." Light nodded eagerly, causing Lawliet to let out a small chuckle. He adjusted himself on the bed in a more comfortable position and glanced over at Light once more. "By the way, my real name is Lawliet."

* * *

**The next chapter will mainly be reserved for both of their backstories - Light and Lawliet, that is - so that's what you can most likely be expecting from chapter four when my lazy ass decides to update this story. Ha ha ha. See you all soon!**

**A/N: A **_**fundoshi **_**was basically what men wore back in the day as underwear (if they chose to do so or even had **_**fundoshi**_**). It kind of looks like a loincloth and basically serves the same purpose. There are several types of it, but the kind Light wears sort of looks like a modern-day thong for guys. It's still around today, but it's more widely used for swim wear than actual **_**under**_**wear.**


End file.
